For example, in this drug, developers combined molecules that
were good at finding cancer cells with ones that were good at latching on to
them, and molecules that were good at killing them. Combined, the
molecules are effective at all three tasks.

"Currently, most drugs are developed using a screening technique
where you try a lot of candidate compounds against targets to 'see
what sticks'," says Steven Armentrout, a co-developer of the
technology.

"Instead, we're designing very specific drugs based on their
molecular structure, with target molecules that bind to receptors
on specific types of cancer cells. In plug-and-play fashion, we can
swap in or swap out any of the functional components, as needed,
for a range of treatment approaches."